Windows NT platform notes

See WebObjects Release Notes for updated information on WebObjects running on Windows NT systems.

Windows NT presents some important differences from UNIX-based operating systems such as


Using WebObjects' Setup Installation utility

If you're using Windows NT, you should use WebObject's setup installation utility and enter information about the location of your <NeXT_Root> directory as well as your Web server's cgi-bin and DocumentRoot directories. The setup program will copy the appropriate files rather than make links. By default, the setup utility creates the C:\NeXT directory for <NeXT_Root>.

During installation, the WebObjects setup installation program asks you to specify a name for the software group on NT. Don't use parenthesis characters in the name, or the setup installation program will crash. Either use the default group suggested by the installer, or, if you need to specify another group name, use alphanumeric characters only.


Creating URLs on Windows NT

In building URLs, use forward slashes as opposed to a backslashes.

The Web server uses the WebObjects.conf ApplicationDirectory argument to build URLs, so use forward slashes there, too.


With or without the .EXE extension

NetScape HTTP servers on NT do not accept CGI programs with an .EXE extension. For the CGI WebObjects Adaptor to work with a NetScape server, the CGI WebObjects Adaptor can't have any extension. (Other NT HTTP servers may require the .EXE extension; if so, add the .EXE extension to the WebObjects program).

DefaultApp can't be run from the DOS shell. Windows NT expects executables to have the .EXE extension when they are executed from the DOS shell. The workaround is to copy DefaultApp to DefaultApp.exe before you execute it in a DOS shell.


Inspecting the CGIMessenger file

In order to enable debugging you should create the logWebObjects file in the directory specified by the TEMP environment variable. Use Notepad or a similar text editor to view the resulting CGIMessenger.log file. Remember that the file is changed during each request, so you'll need to continually reopen it to monitor adaptor activity.


Application resource location

Resources cannot be located in nested directories. Keep resources immediately underneath the application directory. For instance, the DodgeLite example keeps its database dictionary in
   DocumentRoot/WebObjects/Examples/DodgeLite/DodgeData.dict
instead of in
   DocumentRoot/WebObjects/Examples/DodgeLite/Database/DodgeData.dict
as it would on a UNIX-based system.


Mixed Platforms

Load balancing doesn't work with a Web server running on Windows NT and the WebObject applications running on UNIX platforms. Avoid hybrid configurations.